JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (November 3, 2011) – Needing a win to get one step closer to clinching a spot in this month’s conference tournament, the ETSU volleyball team travels to USC Upstate for its final road contest of the season on Saturday.

The Bucs will take on the Spartans at 3 p.m. inside the Hodge Center. ETSU enters the match with a 12-14 overall record and a 5-5 mark in A-Sun play, while USC Upstate sits at 7-18 and 2-8 in the A-Sun.

ETSU is coming off perhaps its biggest victory of the season on Friday as the Bucs knocked off Kennesaw State in a five-set thriller on the road. In the victory, ETSU got doubles-doubles from Megan Devine (Kingsport, Tenn.) and Kayla Williams (El Paso, Texas), while three other players had 10 or more kills. Devine had a match-high 20 kills and added 14 digs, while Williams dished out 50 assists and tallied 14 digs.

Devine continues to lead the team in kills at 4.14 per set, while ranking second in the Atlantic Sun. In addition, Devine is on pace to break the ETSU single season record for most kills per set. The current record is 4.08, set by Jennifer Sartor in 2006.

Senior Jamie Stancliff (Advance, N.C.) remains the league leader in blocks at 1.12 per set. As a team, ETSU continues to lead the league in blocks at 2.10 per set.

Meanwhile, USC Upstate enters the weekend having lost its last five matches. The Spartans most recently fell to Kennesaw State, 3-1, on Saturday.

The Bucs and Spartans are squaring off for the second time this season as the two teams met back on September 20. ETSU won that contest 3-0 behind a match-high 13 kills from Devine. The Bucs out-hit the Spartans .240 to .180, while also gaining a 47-32 kill advantage.

ETSU is now 7-4 all-time against USC Upstate as the Bucs have won four out of the last five contests, including the last two meetings.

Morgan Thomas leads the USC Upstate attack by tallying 3.15 kills per set to rank eighth in the A-Sun. Mindy Quimby also ranks in the top-20 of the league with 2.24 kills per set. Morgan Page leads the Spartans defensively with 4.45 digs per set, which ranks second in the league.

A win against USC Upstate would go a long way for ETSU’s chances of clinching a spot in the upcoming Atlantic Sun Championship. Currently, ETSU sits in fifth place in the league standings. The Bucs would earn a spot to the tournament this weekend if they defeat the Spartans and Jacksonville defeats North Florida. If any other scenario occurs, the Bucs would have to attempt to earn a spot next weekend.

For those unable to attend Saturday’s match, live stats and live video will be available courtesy of UpstateSpartans.com. You can also find the links on the schedule page of ETSUBucs.com.

For more information on ETSU volleyball please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the volleyball link.